The Purple House on Palm/Passion Sunday
The purple house of Lent illuminates the idea that our sense of who we are as Christians is both like and unlike our neighbors. During Lent we pay special attention to living the life Christ laid out for us by focusing on our life within this dedicated time.
The last Sunday of Lent remembers the parade of the people across the palm branches they have laid down for Jesus, which becomes the parade of people to witness his death on the cross. The cross on the hill comes closer to us who live in the odd Purple House of Lent as the end of Jesus earthly life moves into the events of Holy Week.
This graphic and the other five in this series belong to the artist. Contact her for useage.
Stations of the Cross for Lent
During these days before Easter I will be posting images of the 14 clay tiles I completed in the Spring of 2008. Stations of the Cross is a devotional tool used by the church since very early. In Jerusalem each Friday pilgrims walk the route Jesus took on his last day of life stopping at each of the stations. After completeing all the tiles I wrote poems which came out of my work with the clay. My hands led me in what to say. This set of stations which follow the traditional names and number is titled “The Weight of Dust”. The introduction reads
Dust. Stardust. Soil of Eden. House dust. Rust. Dust of dry clay. The psalmist says: “Remember that you are dust; from dust you came and to dust you will return.” Dust has weight: the weight of being human and living a human life. It is the weight of choices and dead ends, of consequences both hopeful and harmful. Dust carries the high cost and great adventure of our humanity. Jesus came to share our dust, the possibilities and the pain. Jesus came to carry in community with us all, the weight of being human.
All images and poems are the property of the artist and may be used with her permission. 2/22/2010
Station 1 : Jesus Is Condemned to Death
Hard to believe
that Jesus is condemned to death.
He spoke of loving
others as you love yourself.
His enemies consume others
grasping at what they call life.
I think they fear God’s human heart,
a heart that cares about the least,
the un-noteworthy, the last in line,
the ones who can do nothing
to satisfy their needs.
They choose in this to stone their hearts
against the outcries of their dying souls.
God’s Heart of Flesh now
crucified by stony hearts.
